More Than Human
by MaryRoyale
Summary: An exploration of the consequences of the Jossverse explanation of the creation of slayers by infusing them with "the heart, soul and spirit" of a demon.
1. The Slayer

_A/N: The idea for this story occurred to me and I just couldn't shake it. So now, I'm inflicting it on you. I think this is fairly close to canon. I have NOT read season 8 yet, so canon as far as seasons 1-7 for BtVS and seasons 1-5 of Angel. If I have erred egregiously and made a horrible faux pas with canon through season 7, please let me know. If I am creating some sort of faux pas in regard to season 8…well…I'm sorry. I'm sort of pretending like that doesn't exist right now. Anyhow, I always thought it was interesting that they touched on the creation of the slayers and the story of the First Slayer, but they never really explored what that would mean in regards to the current slayer. According to Joss, the girl's got some demon in her. What does that mean? How will that affect her? What happens when she's lived longer than any other slayer on record?_

Birthdays had gotten slightly better over the years, but thirty was such an unpleasant number to consider. Buffy eyed herself in the mirror and frowned. She didn't really look any older. Her face was smooth and unlined. She was still able to take any and all challengers. That was the thing about young slayers in training. They all thought they were big and bad ass and figured that it should be easy to take someone as old as _the _slayer. Faith told her that that's what they called her and she figured it was probably true. She and Faith were the only two who had been called the old way, and she was the first. All of the slayers in training seemed to be friendly with Faith, but they always held back from Buffy.

No matter how hard the trainees tried there was something a little extra that she had that gave her that little edge. She'd never really talked to anyone about it. Firstly, as a commander she did not want her soldiers to think that they were lacking in any way. Secondly, she did not want the council any more involved in her life than it needed to be. Thirdly, she didn't want anyone to treat her any differently. There was a knock at the door and Buffy went to answer it.

"Giles?" Buffy was surprised, but cautiously pleased. She hadn't seen Giles in months and she had missed him.

"Erm, yes. Buffy, I need to speak with you about an urgent matter," Giles nervously adjusted his glasses.

"Would that be the urgent matter of my birthday?" Buffy asked tartly. She highly doubted it. Couldn't she ever catch a break? How many apocalypses could a girl save the world from, anyway?

"Erm, yes actually. I have come to speak to you about your birthday." Giles looked very uncomfortable. Buffy frowned slightly, but she moved away from the door to allow Giles entrance. She shut the door behind him and turned to face him.

"What's going on Giles? You have guilty face."

"Are we alone?" Giles glanced around the house and then looked at Buffy inquiringly.

"Yeah. It's just me. Dawn got her own place." Buffy didn't currently have a boyfriend. They were difficult to manage at the best of times, and most of them could not deal with slayer strength and slayer stamina. In fact, Buffy had long ago come to the conclusion that she just couldn't date 'normal' people. They were too vulnerable and too fragile. In addition, they usually couldn't handle the fact that she could take very good care of herself, thank you very much. Her abnormal boyfriends had all been glad that she could cover her own ass _and_ help watch their backs. _No use complaining about that now_ she told herself sternly.

"Buffy, there's something about you and your aging."

My aging?" Buffy's voice rose angrily. "What about my aging? I don't have any wrinkles or crow's feet or anything! What a horrible thing to come tell someone on their thirtieth birthday!"

"No, Buffy, you don't understand. You _aren't_ aging. That's the problem. I've tried and tried to figure it out. I've studied every text about the early slayers I could find. I think it has to do with the fact that the first slayer was infused with demon essence, or to be more exact the heart, the soul and the spirit of a demon."

"Wait…are you saying I'm not getting old and that it's because I've got _demon_ inside of me?" Buffy's voice rose sharply.

"Erm, Buffy, you knew about that. Remember your discovery of the origin of the Slayers?"

"Ugh, yes. Those guys were major creeps." Buffy sighed and flopped down on her couch. Why did Giles always have to be right? She had known about the origin of the first slayer. It had all just been so awful and creepy that she had pushed into a corner of her mind. Buffy was truly gifted when it came to compartmentalizing, and it had come in very handy upon occasion. So she had demon inside of her?

"Giles, does that mean I'm part demon?" Buffy's voice was quiet and only someone who knew her as well as Giles did could discern the trace of fear.

"Erm, I'm afraid so. We can't be sure how great a part, but it has obvious beneficial side effects for the slayers."

"Wait, does this mean all of the girls will have this problem when they get older?"

"I'm not sure. You are the oldest slayer on record. Most of them die before their twenty-first birthday. It may be that the girls exhibit similar side effects as they approach their later years." Giles was still nervous, still twitchy. Buffy frowned. There was something he hadn't told her yet. He still looked incredibly guilty.

"But you don't think so. You think I'm special?" Giles gave her a sad, sweet smile. He had always thought that Buffy was special. He had made tremendous sacrifices for her, sacrifices he would never tell her about because she did not need to carry that burden with all of the others.

"I do rather think you're special. It may be because you are the only living slayer who was chosen in the old manner. I'm not counting Faith because you were alive when she was called. Whatever it is, it's stronger in you. That I know without a doubt."

"So what?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"So…I don't age. So what? Why are you in major crisis mode?"

Giles sighed heavily. He paced for a moment, then took out his glasses and cleaned them.

"I am the only one who's really figured this out. I worry about what might happen when the Watcher's Council finds out. I have nightmares about that actually," Giles confessed this last so quietly that anyone else might not have heard him.

Buffy stared at him for a few minutes. She really looked at Giles. He had aged greatly in the fourteen years that she had known him. She realized that Giles was fragile, human. She'd never considered him that way. He'd always been a mentor, a father figure. _Her_ watcher. He had guided her, helped to shape her into the woman she'd become. Giles had offered support, comfort, and understanding when she had needed it the most. Now, Buffy realized that he could die. She had had to consider it in the past, but Giles was an amazing individual and he had overcome all obstacles in his path. No…Giles was here now because he wanted her to be safe if he died. She knew it deep within her, and with that knowledge came an understanding that Giles loved her as much as she had always loved him. He was trying to protect her, to save her.

"I see." Buffy said slowly.

"Do you? In five years, in ten, what happens when the council really looks at you and you still haven't changed? You are in great danger, Buffy."

"What do you want me to do?" Buffy asked simply. Giles realized that she believed him completely and that she was placing her trust in him.

"You need to leave. Well, to be honest, you must vanish without a trace. I have money and some suggestions for you in here. I would wait a month or two after I leave. I don't want anyone to connect my visit to your disappearance. Buffy, _no one_ can know about this. Not Willow, not Xander, not Dawn."

Buffy stared at the wall. His words reverberated in her head for several moments. No one could know? She knew that made sense. She knew that was the only way it could work. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She had to leave everyone.

"Will you look after her?" They both knew who she meant.

"Dawn is a big girl, now, Buffy. She will be fine." Buffy glared at him. "Fine! Yes, I will look after her. I promise."

"Okay then. After I read your file, I'm supposed to destroy it, right? I feel like a damn spy." She muttered in irritation. Giles hid a smile. He knew that she had acquiesced and he felt better for the first time in months. His slayer would be safe.

Buffy found that it was difficult to pack without looking like you were packing. She was trying to figure out what to take with her when she left. What weapons should she take? What mementos should she take with her of this life? Hell, half of her mementos _were_ weapons. She was definitely taking Mr. Pointy with her. There wasn't a single time she had used it without thinking of Kendra. There were the special knives that were a gift from Xander. She sighed and knelt in front of her "chest of death" as Dawn liked to call it. There were too many memories. How could she leave? How could she not? She had vacillated back and forth for two months. She knew Giles was biting his nails to the quick. She also knew that there was no choice.

When she heard the rapid knocking, she almost thought it might be Giles telling her to shake a tail feather. It was therefore with some reluctance that Buffy went to answer the door. She was shocked to find Spike standing on her doorstep. In the sunlight. She just stared at him for several moments, blinking.

"Hey, Buff, how's it going?" He pushed passed her and walked into her house. She turned and stared at him in shock.

"Spike?"

"Well, yeah, who did you think it was?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"I Shansu'ed don't you know. I always knew it would be me, right?"

"You did what?" Buffy wondered if she were having some sort of insane dream.

"The prophecy of Shansu? The vampire with a soul shall become human? Does any of this sound familiar?"

"The vampire with a soul does _what_?" Spike had a soul, he'd told her that. She had vaguely heard of the prophecy of Shansu second-hand through Giles. At the time, she hadn't really been paying attention because she'd been up to her armpits in Nyarl demons.

"Shall become human. And here I am, love. Human," Spike smiled at her and flashed his pearly whites. Buffy felt slightly faint. She stared at him and blinked several times.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but _why_ are you here?" A flash of hurt crossed Spike's face and Buffy felt her conscience prick her.

"Well, the Shansu prophecy proves that I'm a good man, right? Angel and me always argued about who would Shansu, cause we knew that whichever of us became human would have a real shot with you. And it's me. I'm human. So I've come to woo you." Spike spoke quickly but earnestly. Buffy blinked again. This could not be happening.

"You've come to woo me? You've come here to pitch woo?" Buffy said the words out loud and they still didn't mean anything. What kind of sick, twisted joke was the universe playing on her?

"Well, yeah, love." Spike was starting to come down from the excitement of the Shansu experience. Buffy was definitely not as excited as he and Angel had sort of thought she would be. In fact, she was frowning at him and she looked sort of unhappy about something.

"Spike…William…why would you, or Angel for that matter, think that being human would prove your goodness? God knows I've met plenty of horrible people and loads of them were human."

"But," Spike began again, his face eager, but Buffy interrupted him.

"Also, why would I come running just because either one of you is human? Don't you realize how vulnerable humans are around me? I've had human boyfriends Spike, it's never worked out. They couldn't handle me and they couldn't handle my duties as slayer. The demons always try to take out the weakest points first. I don't want that to be you. I would feel incredibly guilty if anything ever happened to you." Buffy wrung her hands. She wanted him to understand, to believe everything she was saying. Spike's face twisted bitterly.

"You'd feel guilty? If I _died_, you'd feel guilty? That's great, ducks, but that wasn't quite what I had in mind. I _love_ you, Buffy Summers. Heart, soul, and guts. With everything inside me, I love you." Spike was laying his soul bare before the woman he loved and he knew it wasn't enough. His mouth tasted of ashes. Maybe it was the bitterness of gall. Whatever it was, it was not the joy of success.

"Spike…William…I'm incredibly honored that you feel that way about me, but I don't feel that way about you. I respect you; I believe that you are a good man. You proved it to me many years ago when you were not even close to human. I would tell you I consider you a friend, but I think I know what you would say to that. I don't know where that leaves us, but that's all I can offer." Buffy was new and improved firm and no-nonsense Buffy. She turned Spike to the door and marched him out of it. _Shit shit shit shit shit_, she thought to herself. She knew Spike. She knew him very, very well. He was not going to give up without a fight. He would be back soon for round two after a brief sojourn in whatever local bar to drown his sorrows.

That was fine because when Spike returned, she would be gone. She ran upstairs and grabbed her bags from the closet. She had already burned the file of information from Giles. She had the money stashed on her person. She'd carefully and subtly cleaned out her accounts. She paid all her bills and just cashed all her checks for the last two months. She'd also had a small inheritance from when her father passed away. Giles had insisted that she place that in a special off-shore, numbered account for emergency purposes. She wondered if he had seen something like this coming. She grabbed Mr. Pointy and her stuffed pig and crammed them into her bag. She frowned at the house. _Okay, house, it's time for me to leave_. She felt weird saying good bye to a house, but there was no one else she could say good bye to.

No one noticed the petite blond get on the bus and ride out of town. _How freaking familiar is this_, she thought as she stared out the window. _Here's hoping I don't wind up in Hell again._ Buffy felt a stab of fear and mercilessly stomped on it. She was running away again, but this time it was because Giles told her to. He wouldn't be searching for her this time, worrying about whether or not she was alive or dead. Her friends…well, hopefully they would rather have her on the run than used as a lab rat. She wasn't really for sure about that, but she at least would rather not be a lab rat.

Most people who met Buffy thought she was a ditzy blonde. Even after she kicked ass and took names in front of them. Maybe it was because she was petite and pretty. Maybe it was because she actually enjoyed shopping and trips to the coffee shop. Regardless, Buffy was actually a pretty smart cookie. One of the first things Buffy did was hunt up a witch who could help her with a spell so that Willow would not be able to use a spell to find her. It was sort of a blocking spell. One that would make Willow's "eyes" slid over her like she wasn't there. She knew that Giles would probably try to subtly tell Willow not to look, but she also knew that Willow wouldn't be able to help looking for her best friend.

It was actually a lot easier to hide than she thought it might be. With so many slayers out there, she didn't stand out anymore. She also didn't have to worry about going out on patrol because she knew they would take care of it. Buffy deliberately settled in a city that had several slayers, but none of them trained by her. They had all been trained by Watchers sent out into the field to look for triggered potentials. They were okay slayers, a little sloppy, but she bit her lips so that she wouldn't complain.

Instead, Buffy became studious to an impressive degree. Giles would have been so proud. She read all the books she could get her hands on. She didn't have access to the Watcher's Council records anymore, but there was an impressive amount written about past Slayers by the demon community. They had a vested interest after all. Buffy had little trouble borrowing books once she proved herself to the local demon community. And by proving herself, she kicked ass and took names.

The thing many people did not understand was that there were good demons and bad demons. The good ones were considered as much prey as humans were by the bad demons. Beat up a lot of bad demons, or kill them flat out, and the good demons will help you any way they can. Buffy sort of built a name for herself as a "discriminating demon hunter". That meant she was smart enough, and decent enough, to leave the harmless demons alone. The good demons in her city considered her their personal champion and began to come to her with their problems. This in and of itself was not exactly desirable to her, but the demon community proved itself to be extremely protective of its personal champion. They denied any knowledge of her existence to the slayers. Eventually, the slayers stopped asking about her and Buffy became a sort of urban legend in the city. This was exactly what she did want, so she tried to take care of "her" demons to the best of her ability.

Buffy had very little interaction with the slayers in her new city because their hours were almost opposite one another. The slayers patrolled at night because their main prey were vampires. Buffy worked mostly during the day because many demons were active in the day time. However, Buffy still worked many nights because some of her clients were nocturnal. She was learning as much as she could about her condition whenever the time presented itself.

A curious thing occurred to Buffy after several years of hiding. The slayers in her city were all different than the ones that had been there originally. Giles was right. They had all died before they turned twenty-one, usually because of some stupid mistake. Some, like Kendra, were ambushed. Some made a little past that, but not many. Buffy started to realize how special Robin had been. How many slayers ever lived long enough to have children? It might be easier than she had thought to stay hidden from the slayers and their Watchers. Especially if they kept dying like this. The new slayers tried to find out about the mysterious demon hunter, but her demons knew which side their toast was buttered on and they denied everything again. Stupid young idiots, they were snotty and rude to the demons they questioned. Had Buffy ever been like that? She probably had been, she decided.

One of the reasons that the good demons liked Buffy so much was that she was polite and courteous to them. She usually knew what species they were and tried to accommodate any peculiar dietary requirements during meetings. She treated them like people, with respect and dignity. Demons don't forget a kindness. Even if you sort of wish that they would. Also Buffy never batted an eyelash despite the physical appearance of the demons that walked through her door. That alone was a novel experience for many demons in their dealings with "humans". Buffy snorted to herself. Not exactly human, was all she'd been able to determine so far. Her face remained perfectly unlined and unwrinkled. She was as flexible and as strong as ever. She still had her slayer strength and stamina.

Buffy found it difficult to date in the demon community. She wasn't attracted to most of the demons. Some were not bad on the eyes, but it was hard to date guys that practically hero worshipped her. She wanted an equal, a partner. Someone who had her back in a fight, but was willing to call her on bull shit. As a result, Buffy's sex life pretty much stayed the same. _How pathetic is that_? _I can't even get laid as a damn demon hunter_. It was probably for the best. She needed to stay focused on her work. Geez, she sounded more like Giles every day.


	2. A Birthday Visit

_A/N: As I stated previously, the fact that Buffy (and every previous slayer) is part demon is something that I've always found fascinating, but was never really addressed within the Jossverse. It was always so ironic to me that Buffy desperately wanted a "normal" relationship when it was obvious that the very last thing she could ever have was a "normal" relationship. I think it would be healthier for her in the long run to embrace her abnormality and accept herself for what she is. _

_Anyhow, I would appreciate any constructive criticism anyone has to offer. Thank you all for reading._

The sun shone brightly through the window onto the queen sized bed and its occupant groaned in protest and threw an arm over her eyes. She'd forgotten to close her curtains, which she usually did without fail because her late nights made for late mornings.

"Hey, Hunter? Are you getting up today?" Maisie called from the kitchen. Buffy told no one her name, shared nothing of herself with anyone and the demon community had taken to calling her the Hunter. Buffy had rescued Maisie, a half-demon orphan living on the streets, who had in turn adopted her and appointed herself as the Hunter's caretaker. Buffy groaned again in protest and pulled a pillow over her head.

"Go away," she mumbled through the pillow. Maisie laughed at her.

"C'mon, Hunter, you gotta eat so you can grow big and strong." That was a running joke between them. Buffy was slim and petite and wasn't going to get any bigger and she was already much stronger than most people they knew. Buffy knew that it was pointless to resist so she crawled out of bed and staggered into the bathroom. A nest of vicious demons the night before made for a stiff, cranky slayer. No, not a slayer. A hunter. She was a hunter now.

The pounding of scalding hot water on sore muscles relaxed Buffy and made her feel slightly more human. She snorted to herself in the shower. Well, as human as she could be anyway. She soaped up and rinsed off. She stared at herself in the mirror.

"Happy Birthday to me," she muttered under her breath. Her skin was still unlined, still smooth and supple. She still looked young, but it had been ten years since she had abandoned everything and everyone she knew and loved.

Every day of that time had been excruciatingly difficult, but Buffy was a survivor. She had had to hold herself back from running home on more than one occasion, but she knew that Giles would have throttled her if she had.

"Hey, Hunter, there's an old man who's been looking for you," Maisie offered as she slid a plate in front of Buffy. The demon community was very protective of Buffy because she protected them and because they knew she didn't want to be found. Maisie was even more protective because she considered the Hunter to be her family—the only family she had left. However, the people who usually were looking for the mysterious demon hunter were young slayers who were rude and arrogant. They didn't know who this mysterious Hunter was, but they had tried (and failed) to find out.

"An old man?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's different. Nick said that he didn't demand to speak to you or anything like that. Nick said that the old guy said that if there were such a person as this hunter that maybe she might be willing to talk to the Ripper. Isn't that funny that he knew you were a she? The slayers usually assume you're a guy or something." Maisie was curious. No one knew anything about the Hunter and this mysterious old man might know her. Buffy became very still.

"Ripper? He said Ripper?" Buffy's voice rose slightly.

"Um, yeah, Ripper. He told Nick he was going to come back tonight if someone wanted to see him. Nick thought he was funny."

That night, instead of patrolling, Buffy went to Nick's bar. She sat in a dark recessed corner and waited. Nick nodded at her and brought her a short glass with mineral water and a lime wedge. It looked like she was drinking alcohol, but she wasn't. Buffy preferred to stay focused, but give the impression that she might not be. It made people underestimate her and gave her the upper hand. She gave him a small smile in thanks and he grinned at her. When Giles walked into the bar, she tensed reflexively. He scanned the bar briefly, and then walked toward her.

"Hunter," he acknowledged her new identity. She nodded at him and he sat down.

"Ripper, it's good to see you again." Buffy spoke quietly, but she knew every ear in the bar was straining to catch her words.

"I came to see you because I knew that you mostly likely had..um...concerns and perhaps questions. I also had questions so I thought perhaps it might be time for us to speak again."

"Wow, Ripper, that's quite the mouthful."

"Erm, yes, I suppose it is. Happy Birthday, by the way." Giles pulled out a small package and slid it across the table at her. Buffy opened it and smiled. Matched throwing knives and she knew without picking them up that they would be perfectly balanced. She impulsively leaned over and kissed Giles on the cheek. He blushed and adjusted his glasses.

"They're perfect, I love them. Thank you."

"I'm glad to see you looking so well, it eases my mind a great deal." Giles spoke as quietly as he was able. Buffy laughed and shook her head at him.

"Thanks old sport, you're looking quite chipper yourself," she teased lightly.

"Stop it, B—erm, Hunter. I can't stay for very long. My absence will be noted. So, uh, everyone is doing well. I mean, they worried and all, but I think they suspect that there's more than meets the eye. Especially because of F—erm, your….uh….ex-coworker. She's been having some problems at work lately." Giles was trying to be subtle just in case there were unfriendly ears. Buffy thought that was quite smart, actually. She trusted very few people anymore.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, she's never been one to accept interference. She….quit….in a rather public way and took off for parts unknown. She accused the….erm….management of having you killed. Things are getting bad. A few people came to me and wanted to know if it was true, if they'd killed you. I told them I didn't know, but I wouldn't put it past them."

"Oh my god! G-uh-Ripper, were the few people _my_ people? You can't let them go after the….uh….management! It's too dangerous!" Buffy and Giles were hissing quietly at each other. Their conversation had become heated and the bar patrons were paying avid attention.

"Hunter? You okay?" Nick asked quietly from a respectful distance.

"Yeah, Nick, thanks. No worries. The Ripper here just had to tell me some bad news."

"Okay." Nick went back to the bar. He was a smart man, for a G'Pak demon. He respected the Hunter, he was grateful for what she did for the community. She'd saved his brother's life, in fact. He could tell that the Ripper guy was someone the Hunter knew and trusted. Someone she cared about. Still, the people you care about can sometimes be dangerous to your health.

"Hunter, don't worry. Your people are too smart for that. I think they know and they're glad. They love you enough to care more about your life than whether or not you said good-bye. Maybe if it had gone down differently, they might have been pissed off, but after the thing with your ex-coworker they realized just how bad it might be."

"Even…um…the late arrival?" Buffy wasn't quite sure how to ask about Spike. Giles stared at her for a moment in confusion. He frowned and watched her surreptitiously trace an "S" on the table.

"Oh! Yes. He's, erm, moved on so to speak. He got quite bitter when he realized that his being human was the problem, not the solution. I believe he got drunk for an entire week. Raved on and on about how the universe had gotten him but good. He'll be fine."

"Thank god! So, everyone's fine, everything's okay. See you in ten years?"

"Well, I guess so. But, I might not be able to see you in ten years. I wanted to set up an emergency way to contact you, just in case."

Buffy and Giles traded information. Then she stood up and left. Giles watched the bar patrons watch him. He stood up stiffly and walked over to the bar to pay. Nick shook his head at him.

"No charge."

"Erm, look, young man, I appreciate the offer, but surely," Giles began but he was interrupted by the demon behind the bar.

"No, sir, Mr. Ripper. The Hunter, she protects us and keeps us safe. Nobody else gives a shit about us. We're just demons, right? But she does, she cares enough to tell the difference between those of us just trying to survive and those of us who feed off fear and pain. No charge," The demon finished with quiet dignity. Giles nodded and left the bar.

On the way home, Giles considered what Buffy had been able to accomplish. He was extremely proud of her. It had been slightly surreal to sit across from the forty year old Buffy who looked just as she had at thirty and at twenty. He hoped that both she and Faith would be safe from the council. He hoped they could outlast them anyway. He had only told her the truth. Willow, Dawn and even Xander now suspected that Buffy had perhaps escaped the long arm of the council and in fact, prayed that was so. He knew that they would not care that she hadn't contacted any of them if it meant that she was safe. At the moment, the whole situation was being treated as a top secret security matter by the council. Well, as top secret as it could be after Faith's explosive leave-taking.

After Giles' visit it was hard for Buffy to settle back into her normal routine. She felt jittery and jumpy. She kept expecting Faith to pop up out of nowhere. The demon community noticed that the Hunter seemed to become hyper vigilant about her privacy and suspected that her old friend had come with a warning. She stayed even further away from the slayers (if that were possible). Time passed and Faith did _not _pop up out of nowhere. Eventually, Buffy calmed down enough that the demon community relaxed.

One of the things that amused Buffy as she grew older was that part of being a slayer or a hunter meant that she had to go clubbing, a lot, as part of her job. Vampires and other types of not-so-nice demon frequented night clubs as an easy feeding ground. Maybe that was one of the reasons she stayed so young looking. It would be noticeable if some 90 year old woman were hanging out in the clubs trying to blend. Whatever the reason, she was a regular at several of the local nightclubs. There were a couple that catered to a demon-only clientele and she frequented those as well. By making her presence felt, a lot of fights were stopped before they ever started. This made her quite popular with the demon nightclubs because they knew she was responsible for the peace.

The _Inferno_ was a ridiculous homage to everything people assumed about demons because it was a mixed nightclub, which meant humans and demons were welcome. Most of it was meant to be a sort of tongue-in-cheek joke for anybody who knew anything about real demons. Buffy was wearing what she considered her work uniform. She had on strappy black stiletto heels and a little black dress. Admiring glances followed her through the nightclub, but she ignored them. She was on patrol and now was not the time for flirting.

"Hey there, beautiful, care to dance?" She glanced at him and received an impression of tall, dark and handsome. Buffy's throat closed for just a moment, but it wasn't him. The voice was all wrong and his shoulders were too narrow. That, and she hadn't felt that strange pull.

"No thanks, honey. Maybe later, huh?" Buffy gave him her sweet smile and the guy nodded and moved on.

The rest of the night passed with little to no incident. Buffy spoke to a couple of demon elders about some issues they were having. She killed a couple vampires who were stupid enough to attack humans at one of the nightclubs she frequented. She was in the bathroom when she heard a couple of female demons talking.

"Can you believe those vampires? How could they be so stupid?" The first woman spoke and Buffy recognized her voice. Her name was D'Vara and she was a Thock demon. She was good people and Buffy liked her.

"They probably figured that slayers wouldn't be able to come into a nightclub. I think they're all under twenty-one, right? They were new, they didn't know about the Hunter." The other woman she recognized, but she couldn't place.

"True, but that's the way the Hunter likes it," D'Vara stated confidently.

"I wonder why she's so paranoid about her privacy," mused the unidentified woman.

"I don't know. Nick figures she's got a past somewhere, but she's more than proved herself to him."

"Well, she's proved herself to everybody, hasn't she? I mean she got rid of that nest of Chavoid demons and the demon slaver group." They continued to talk as they left the bathroom.

Buffy came out of the stall and fixed her makeup. It was closing time, time for her patrol to go to the streets. It was late and Buffy's heels made a clicking noise as she walked. Her hearing and sense of smell had become more heightened lately. She was also faster than she had been. Was that due to her rigorous workout? Maybe. Maybe not. Buffy really couldn't say.

Her senses were all on high alert. She was constantly scanning her surrounding and she always knew who, or what, was around her. Predators usually left her alone because they could sense that she was dangerous. She took care of several problems. Unfortunately, some of them were just evil humans. Those made her the sickest. She went home and took a shower, but she still felt dirty. She fell into an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning. She dreamt troubling dreams.

_She was standing in an apartment. She wasn't sure where it was or where she was. Stupid dreams! Why couldn't they leave her alone! Faith walked into the room Buffy was standing in and stared at her. She looked surprised—shocked even._

"_Are you a ghost? Angel told me you came to him and told him you had to go away. He says you come to him sometimes." Faith's voice was cautious and tinged with nervousness. Buffy could only imagine the anxiety she was dealing with. Well, actually she had a pretty good idea about the kind of anxiety a runaway slayer dealt with. Buffy sighed._

"_I don't control when I come to you, I think maybe you guys do. It seems to happen when someone needs to talk to me." Buffy said finally, almost unwillingly. _

"_So…I need to talk to you?" Faith raised one eyebrow in question. Buffy shrugged._

"_I guess. I don't know, do you?" Buffy was tired, she didn't want to play stupid games. Faith seemed to be making a decision. She straightened her back and took a deep breath._

"_What do I do now? How am I supposed to hide from the Watcher's Council? I can't stay with anyone I know because they'll look there. Right now, I'm just running and they're going to catch up to me. I don't want that, Buffy. Help me," Faith pleaded. _

_Buffy figured part of her fear was due to the fact she thought she was having a conversation with a ghost. Someone the council had already had killed. Should she disabuse Faith of that notion? What if Faith was caught and they tortured her to find Buffy? It was safer this way, Buffy decided. Let them think there was no one to look for._

"_If I were you, I would look for larger cities where it's easier to blend. Don't pick a Hellmouth, for God's sake. Look for a city that has a couple slayers, but none that were trained by you. Maybe try doing something similar to what Angel did in L.A. Like a champion-for-hire kind of a gig. Don't tell anyone your name. Pick a new name. In fact, don't tell anyone anything if you can help it. Your life depends on it Faith." Buffy knew that she'd basically just told Faith to do what she'd done when she ran away, but Faith didn't know that. Faith thought that she was dead. _

"_Wow. That's really good, well thought out advice. When did you get so wise, B?" Then Faith's face grew pale. "Never mind. Let's not talk about that."_

"_I miss you, you know," Buffy said after a moment. Faith's face lit up at that. _

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. You were the only one who ever got what it was like. The newbies have no clue. They all have each other to lean on. We only had each other."_

"_And look what I did to that," Faith muttered and looked away._

"_That doesn't matter anymore," Buffy said softly and sadness flashed in Faith's eyes. _

"_No, I guess it doesn't." _

"_Not for the reason you're thinking, Faith. It doesn't matter because it all happened years ago. We beat the crap out of each other, but I got over it. When all is said and done, I would rather have you at my back than almost anyone else." They both knew who the almost anyone else was._

"_He misses you, too." Faith's voice was very quiet and she was looking away. _

"_I know."_

Buffy woke up in a cold sweat. Ugh. How gross was that? She stripped the sheets, took a shower and remade the bed. Stupid, stupid dreams. She had them every now and then. She couldn't figure out why and she couldn't figure who was responsible. Was it something she did? She expected the prophetic dreams. That was just part of being a slayer. The dreams acted as a slightly faulty early warning system. However, these other dreams were different. Sometimes, they were embarrassing—like the strange sex dreams she'd had when Angelus had been accidentally released after she and Angel had made love. Sometimes they were crazy and confusing such as the dreams she'd had after she had cast him into Hell or the dreams of Faith when she was in a coma.

"Well, crap." There was no point in trying to sleep now. Buffy pulled on work out clothes and running shoes. She slipped out of the apartment and started running.


	3. Angel Break

_A/N: Please don't be shy. Let me know what you think! This chapter will be from Angel's point of view._

**12 years 8 months 2 weeks 5 days and 15 hours ago**

Angel lay on the couch in his living room, sleeping fitfully. He did not fall dead to the world during the day as portrayed by so many hack writers, but neither did he do completely without sleep. He did not need nearly as much sleep as most humans, but a few hours every couple of days helped restore him. Fingertips lightly brushed his forehead and he started awake at the unexpected contact. Buffy was standing in his living room watching him with a sad smile curving her lips.

"Buffy?" Surprise made Angel's voice hoarse.

"I came to tell you that I have to go away." Her eyes were wide and they pleaded with him to understand. He frowned at her.

"Go away? Go away where? Why?" Angel was confused. Buffy didn't usually contact him for minor problems.

"Goodbye, Angel," she whispered and then she disappeared.

Angel grabbed his phone and called Buffy. No answer. In the next few minutes Angel tried every number he could think of. Finally, he called Giles.

"Giles?"

"Angel? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Buffy's missing."

"Erm, missing?" Angel frowned at the phone. Why did Giles sound so odd? What the hell was going on?

"Yes, missing. She is nowhere to be found. She is not in any of her usual haunts. No one has seen her." Due to frustration and a strange coil of fear in his belly, Angel found himself speaking sharply to Giles. Usually, he tried to be especially polite to Giles—it seemed like the least he could do after torturing him as Angelus.

"Well, there's no need to be snippy," Giles huffed.

"Giles," Angel voice held a warning note to it. This was _Buffy_ they were talking about. Something bad must have happened to her.

"I will call the local Watchers and we will look into it," Giles spoke formally and his tone brooked no questions.

"Fine," Angel bit out through clenched teeth and then hung up.

That strange coil of fear snaked through him. _Buffy!_

**2 years 8 months 2 weeks 5 days and 15 hours ago**

Angel was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. He had a new access point to the Powers That Be. He was a G'Pak demon named Tony. The only problem that Angel had with Tony so far was that he was pretty much useless when it came to paperwork. Angel sighed and rubbed his eyes. The phone rang and Angel picked it up because he was the only one there.

"Angel Investigations, how can I help you?" He absolutely refused to recite the catchphrase that Cordelia had come up with in the beginning.

"Oh, thank God it's you!"

"Faith?" Angel was shocked. Even he had heard about Faith's extremely public repudiation of the Watcher's Council. He knew that she was on the run. Why on earth was she calling him?

"Angel, she came to me! I mean, in a dream, but she came to me!" Faith was so excited she was almost babbling. They both knew who the _she_ was. Angel's chest hurt and he felt dizzy.

"What did she say?" Angel was slightly embarrassed at the eagerness in his voice, but he ignored it.

"She misses us both. She forgives me for everything, can you believe that?" Faith sounded really happy. Angel could understand for he felt a rush of happiness at the knowledge that _she_ missed him.

"What else did she say?" He knew that Faith would not have called him just to say that Buffy missed him.

"Oh, yeah. So, I'm disappearing. That's what she told me to do. I have to vanish. So after this call, I'm losing this phone. I might not be able to contact you for a while. Hang tough, big fella." The line went dead in his hand. Angel growled in frustration. _Slayers_. They were headstrong at the best of times.

**Present Day (well, present to the story's timeline anyway.)**

The Powers That Be were capricious, but when they called you answered. Angel dragged his feet all the way to his appointed meeting, but he went all the same. He was in a strange room very similar to the one the Oracles used to speak with him. Maybe it was some type of audience chamber? There was a man shaped figure and a woman shaped figure, but they were difficult to look at so Angel averted his gaze. Their skin seemed to glow and it hurt his eyes to look directly at them.

"Ah, it is Our Champion," the male figure spoke in a voice that rang like music.

"You asked for me and here I am," Angel could not help but be slightly sullen. These meetings never worked very well for him and he had dreaded this meeting. "Oh, uh, I brought you chocolate."

"It is a gift?" The female figure's voice was as musical as her companion's.

"Yeah, you eat it." Angel remembered chocolate and he figured they might like it too. The female figure nibbled delicately on a small square.

"Oh! Oh, this is wonderful. Thank you for this gift, Champion." The female figure was delighted with the chocolate.

"We are not the Oracles. You need not bribe Us for assistance," the male figure muttered in annoyance.

"No, certainly not," the female agreed quickly. "After all, Champion. We have called you."

"About that, why exactly did you call me?" Angel's shoulders were stiff with tension. These meetings always made him very nervous. He never knew what to expect and these Powers That Be always had far too much power and control over his life.

"You are a Champion of Light and it is most distressing to Us that you are constantly at risk. This curse that has been laid upon you makes you vulnerable. At any moment you can become a powerful tool for the Dark—and it may even occur completely against your will! Such a situation can not be allowed to continue." The male figure's voice expressed their frustration in Angel's perceived weaknesses.

"I mean no offense, Your…um…Excellency? But, how exactly do you propose to stop people from trying to take away my soul? Are you going to make me human?" Angel asked cautiously. Hope and fear warred within him. He had wanted for so long to be able to live as others did. Or at least be able to have a semi-normal relationship.

"You may address us as the Shining Ones," the female offered gently. "As to how we shall remedy the situation—that is easy. We have decided to permanently affix your soul. You have worked tirelessly in the cause of the Light and have more than proved yourself worthy. We would rather not make you human because the point is to remove your weaknesses, not replace them with new ones. When you are part demon, as a vampire is, you are a stronger Champion. We shall not change that, but We will remove the curse. It is pointless and it contradicts itself. No one takes pride in their work anymore," she complained.

"Um…Your…uh…Shining One, the curse was cast over a hundred years ago," Angel spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture. He didn't want to piss her off, but it wasn't like the thing had been cast yesterday.

"Champion, you yourself would be the merest infant in comparison to Us. We are ancient beyond your abilities of comprehension. My companion has been making that complaint for several millennia. Regardless, your soul shall be affixed permanently and the curse shall be lifted. So," The male figure explained. He made a gesture and there was a great flash of light.

Angel woke up back in his own apartment. Tony was sitting in a chair watching him.

"So what did they say?" Curiosity was eating Tony alive. Angel started laughing, but it was a bitter laugh. Tony frowned. "Boss?"

"They just gave me everything I ever wanted…about twenty-four years too late."

Angel moped for several weeks. He brooded like only he could. Why now? Why did the Powers That Be have to do this to him now, when it didn't do any good? When Buffy was gone? He took his frustrations out in his work.

He had been willing to bide his time, to be patient. He could wait for her until she was ready. What would a few small years mean in the grand scheme of things? The last time she'd died, he had been completely heartbroken. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and the thought that she was no longer in the world made it seem cold and empty. Then she'd returned and his joy had been so intense he could barely contain it. Now she was gone again and his heart ached every time he thought of her. He pulled out a small picture that he had kept and stared at it.

Angel was sitting at his desk staring at the picture of Buffy when Tony came into the office with a stack of files. He glanced at the desk and then he frowned.

"Hey, Boss?" Tony's voice was uncertain, hesitant.

"Yeah, Tony?" _Please don't ask about her_, he thought desperately. _Not today_.

"Why do you have a picture of the Hunter?" Tony looked confused, which seemed to be a fairly common expression for the G'Pak demon.

"The who?" Angel sat straight up in his chair.

"The Hunter. This woman, she works out of the demon community in Portland, where my brother Nick lives. She saved my life about five years ago." Tony gestured toward the picture of Buffy.

"She does?" Hope leapt in his breast. Five years ago? Maybe she was still alive then? _Please let her be alive_.

"Sure. She takes care of the demons that usually get picked on by the bad ones. Kind of like what you do here, but she doesn't really put out a sign or anything. She's real secretive, private. She won't work with anyone who hasn't been vouched for by another community member."

Angel frowned slightly. It sounded like Buffy was sort of a cross between a slayer and a demon hunter, which is probably how she got the name Hunter.

"So…she doesn't have a name?"

"Not that anybody knows. She answers to Hunter. Not even Maisie calls her anything else."

"Maisie?"

"A half-demon kid that lives with her."

Angel was suddenly filled with a burning desire to take a road trip. He called Gunn.

"Hey. Do you feel like going on a road trip with me, or watching over the office while I'm gone?" Angel wasn't sure if he would need back up or not. It never hurt to have someone watch your back.

"Okay, now I'm curious. I think I'll go on the road trip with you. Do you need me to drive in the day time?"

"Yeah, that was the plan." Angel grinned. Gunn knew him so well.

"Should I come prepared?"

"Um…I think so." He didn't think the trip would be overly dangerous, but you never know.

"Okay. Do you want to tell Wesley he has to stay home, or do you want me to do it?"

"I'll tell him." There was no way in hell Angel was going to let Wesley anywhere near Buffy. He still had some ties to the Watcher's Council and he still had a few friends among them. If Buffy were alive, but hiding from the Council the very last person she would want to see would be Wesley.


	4. We Meet Again

The day dawned overcast and it sullenly threatened to turn drizzle into rain. Sometimes, Buffy missed the sun, but then she reminded herself that the sun hadn't really been a huge part of her life for a long, long time. The weather here was different and that was actually a good thing. There was enough of a difference that it was easier on her. If it had been too similar, too familiar, her heart would have ached a thousand different times a day. Dawn. Willow. Xander. She grieved for them at the oddest moments. One night Maisie had been flipping channels and she had stopped on some old Hindi movie. There was singing and dancing, but no water buffalo in this one. Buffy's heart had contracted painfully and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying.

The sky wept and Buffy sat in the window seat, staring out at the gray world on the other side of the window. Today was Willow's birthday. The people at the Hallmark store had gotten incredibly suspicious of the young-looking, petite blonde who had wandered up and down the birthday card aisle for several hours. Buffy missed her friends, her support network, so badly. Eventually, Buffy found one of those "Happy Birthday from across the miles" sort of cards and mailed it, unsigned, to Giles. She knew he would pass it along. Her phone rang and she snatched it up. It was a special pre-paid burn phone. She got a new one every month and sent Giles the new number; he was the only person with that information.

"Hello," She always answered the phone cautiously—just in case it wasn't Giles.

"Hello, Hunter." Giles never used her real name. Never. Just in case someone overheard him.

"Did she like it?" Buffy suddenly felt self-conscious, shy. What if Willow was angry with her? What if she now hated her? Buffy didn't think she could bear it.

"Of course she did. She knew who it was from immediately. She started crying, but they were tears of joy. She said that she was glad. And she hopes that you stay far, far away if it means that you're safe. And she loves you. I think that's all of it." Giles unconsciously mimicked Willow's speech patterns. Buffy smiled into the phone.

"I love her, too. I love all of you."

"Erm…Hunter?"

"Yes, Ripper?"

"Please don't do that again for awhile. You must be careful." Giles' voice had gone tense with worry. Buffy felt her eyes tear.

"Yes, sir," Buffy whispered hoarsely.

"Oh, and Hunter?"

"Yes?"

"We love you, too."

The life of a half-demon teen was vastly different from your average human child. Maisie did not go to public school. She went to a private, demon only school paid for by Buffy. Maisie pretty much had free run of the demon community because she'd been an orphan living on the streets for years. That, and the Hunter was her guardian. Maisie was fiercely proud of her adopted mom, but she was very protective too. Most demon children were not seen in bars or night clubs, but Maisie was able to get away with more than most of them. She kind of had a crush on Nick, the owner of a bar who passed information along to the Hunter.

"Hey, Maisie-girl, what are you up to?" Nick gave her his special smile and Maisie felt her knees go weak. He was wiping down glasses behind the bar.

"Not much. What's the what, Nico?" She grabbed a handful of pretzels and chewed energetically. Nick hid a smile. Maisie reminded him of his kid sister, but he would never tell her that.

"Mmmm. Not a whole lot. I have one or two things that the Hunter should probably know about. Now, go to school, or I'll tell her you've been skipping again."

"I have not!"

"Maisie-girl, don't try lying to me. It doesn't work." Nick gave a short laugh and shooed the half-demon out of the bar. She pouted and stomped her foot, but she left just the same.

Buffy was getting ready that night when Maisie passed Nick's request along.

"Okay. I'll stop by Nick's, I promise."

Buffy had on one of her many little black dresses. This particular little black dress was a snug sheath with little spaghetti straps. Her hair was swept up with loose tendrils framing her face. Her feet were shod in chunky heels.

"You look gorgeous," Maisie murmured softly. The Hunter rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Right. You, missy, are going to bed. I'll be home at the usual time, I think." The Hunter gently kissed Maisie's forehead. Her heels clicked down the hall and out the door.

Buffy was making her normal circuit through the nightclubs when she felt it. She stopped moving and stood still for several moments. There it was—that strange pull. Her heart started pounding in her chest. She scanned the nightclub wildly, but didn't see anything. _He was here_. She turned again and then she saw him. He was standing in the shadows, watching. She began walking to him; she saw the exact moment when he realized she was coming to him. He looked vaguely panicked, but he stood his ground. She hid a smile. Twenty-four years ago, she probably wouldn't have been able to recognize the panic on his face. He had seemed like such an enigma back then. Now, now she could read him like an open book.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked when she reached him. She had to look up at him, even though she was wearing three inch heels.

"Hi there, my name's Gunn, and yours?" Gunn was holding out his hand and smiling a mega-watt smile at Buffy. He hadn't known exactly why they were on this impromptu road trip, but he figured the beautiful woman in front of them was a good enough reason. She was tiny, but there was a look in her eye that said she was dangerous. The blonde looked at his hand and then raised an eyebrow at Angel. She finally shook his hand and Gunn winced slightly. The girl had a grip, that was for sure.

"It would be best for me if you just called me Hunter. Security is a top priority for me." Her voice was husky and she was staring with great intensity at Angel whose deep brown eyes were smoldering back at her. Gunn could not help but feel sort of left out.

"Angel? What exactly is going on here?" Gunn finally asked in exasperation. Angel glanced at him and frowned slightly.

"Is there…somewhere we can talk?" Angel asked Buffy. Her hazel eyes were burning through him. He could feel electricity crackling between them.

"Yes, actually. I have to go see somebody and he'll let us use his place." There was a flash of something in Angel's eyes, but he ruthlessly tamped it down. Buffy thought it might be jealousy. _Really_? _After all these years he's _still _jealous_? Then again, jealousy was often a sign of insecurity and Angel certainly didn't have anything to feel secure about. Buffy ignored that look and led the way out of the nightclub.

They walked into Nick's bar and Angel noticed that no one here was giving Buffy the appreciative looks she'd received in the nightclub. Here they were giving her respectful glances and nods. The bartender gave a polite nod to Buffy.

"Hey, Nick, can I use your back room?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Of course, Hunter." Nick's voice was just as quiet and he gave a curious glance toward the two men with her. "Did Maisie talk to you?"

"Yeah, Nick, she passed everything along. I'll speak to you in just a little bit," Buffy murmured. Nick nodded.

Buffy led the way into the back room with Angel and Gunn following. When they arrived in Nick's small back room, Buffy turned and crossed her arms over her chest in a protective motion.

"Well?" Buffy raised an eyebrow at Angel again.

"I…um…I found out you were here and I have something important I need to talk to you about."

"How did you find out about me?" Buffy's voice betrayed her—it shook with fear.

"You know how I usually have a conduit to the Powers that Be? My new one is named Tony and he said you saved his life." Angel spread his hands in a soothing motion as he spoke. Buffy visibly relaxed at his explanation.

"Tony? He's Nick's cousin. You didn't hear through anyone involved with the Council? You promise me, Angel?" Buffy's eyes beseeched him. Gunn frowned as he listened to the conversation.

"Council? What Council are you talking about?" Gunn was confused. Buffy looked at Angel.

"The Watcher's Council," Angel explained with a glance at Buffy.

"The _Watcher's_ Council? Wait…so that makes you a…." Gunn's voice was tinged with shock.

"Please don't," Buffy interrupted.

"…slayer." Gunn finished. Buffy's eyes closed in frustration for a moment. The wheels were spinning in Gunn's head. "Oh God! It's you, isn't it? I mean, you're…"

"Gunn," Angel's voice was low and dangerous. Gunn looked at him.

"Well, it is, isn't it?" Gunn insisted. Angel sighed heavily.

"Yeah. It's her."

"Wow."

"Okay, so why exactly are you here, again?" Buffy was starting to get irritated. She had her hands on her hips.

"Um…yeah, about that. So the…uh…the Powers that Be decided they didn't like how delicate my soul was…how easy it was to remove. They made it a permanent thing and they removed the curse," the last came out in a rush.

Angel was looking at her fearfully. If he were human, his hands would have been sweaty. He shifted position nervously. Buffy was standing completely still. She wasn't moving and she wasn't looking at him. He tried to be patient, but he was terrified of her response.

"B-," He started, but she raised a finger in his face. Her eyes pierced him like daggers and he stepped back unconsciously.

"Do _not_," Buffy said fiercely. She took several breaths to calm herself down. "They, they just made it permanent? That's it? No muss, no fuss? Do you know…I mean I wished and prayed and fantasized…never mind. Why now? Why not twenty-four years ago?"

"I know. Believe me, I asked a lot of the same questions myself. I just…it happened now. So, yeah. Here I am."

"Why did you come here, though?" Buffy was confused. So much time had passed. Things were so different now. She had never considered that Angel would have her at the top of his need-to-know list. Angel glanced at Gunn and then sighed.

"Certain things have happened to both of us; huge things that have incredible impact on our lives. I thought maybe you might want to get a cup of coffee and we could maybe talk about it. If you want." He was so awkward and embarrassed that Buffy's heart went out to him. He was asking her out for coffee? That took her back to the beginning. How could she refuse to go for coffee?

"Maybe," She whispered through numb lips. "We'll need to find you somewhere to stay for the night."

"Oh, that's fine," Angel assured her. "I arranged for that before I came. I wasn't sure how long it would take before I found you."

"All right then," Buffy murmured to herself. "I, um, I have to talk to Nick and then I have to go home. Maisie'll be expecting me."

Angel nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow," He murmured.


	5. Coffee Talk

When Maisie got up that morning, she was shocked to find the Hunter up already and a stack of pancakes on the table. She seemed to be moving around the kitchen at a frenetic pace.

"Hey! I made pancakes. Come eat some of these because I made way too many. I just followed the directions." The Hunter frowned at the stack of pancakes.

"What's going on?" Maisie asked cautiously.

"Why do you ask?"

"You never just get up at the crack of dawn and make huge stacks of pancakes." Maisie was starting to get suspicious of her adopted mother who looked vaguely guilty and very nervous.

"Maisie, I've never really spoken about my life before I moved here, have I?" The Hunter was wringing her hands together.

"No, Hunter, never." Now Maisie was really worried. Everyone knew that the Hunter didn't want to be found. The demons of Portland didn't know why she was hiding, but they knew she was. What if something had happened? Would the Hunter leave them? Would she leave Maisie?

"Some…people…have come who were…are…friends of mine. They may come here. I'm not sure yet if that is the smart thing to do. I just…I wanted you to know. I mean, if you woke up and came down and there was a strange man in the living room you would probably be scared." She spoke slowly as she struggled to tell Maisie only what she needed to know.

"Is it that Ripper guy?" Maisie was curious. She was always fascinated when people who had known the Hunter before came to visit.

"No. Um…it's a vampire and a human, both are men."

"A vampire?" Maisie was shocked. The Hunter had no patience when it came to vampires.

"This one's special," The Hunter wasn't looking at Maisie, but her voice was soft, quiet. "He has a soul."

"He has a soul?" Maisie thought she remembered something about that from somewhere, but she couldn't remember what it was so she ignored it for the more pressing concerns of the here and now. "So…does that mean he's good?"

"Yes. He is very good. Maisie, can you be discreet about all of this?" The Hunter was watching her with worried eyes. Maisie drew herself up proudly.

"Yes. I promise not discuss your business with anyone else. Not even my friends." Maisie loved the Hunter and she would never do anything that might hurt her.

"The…the vampire is a Champion of Light. Do you know what that means?" The Hunter was waiting patiently for her reply.

"Um…sort of. My father was a professor and he studied a lot of the really old and hard to find stuff. He told me that Champions of the Light were people chosen to fight the Dark. He said," Maisie paused to remember her father's words. "I think something about them being bastions against evil. I'm not sure what that means, but I think that's what it was."

"Right. Your dad was right. Do you know what a slayer is?"

"Aren't they just with vampires, though?" Maisie had vaguely heard of slayers, but they hadn't ever been a direct impact on her life.

"Mmm…not all the time. Occasionally, they serve in a similar capacity to a Champion and they share many of the same attributes." The Hunter spoke with a tone of authority that made Maisie very curious. She spoke as though she worked with slayers and Champions on a regular basis. Maybe she had. A shiver went down Maisie's spine.

"Okay. So…a slayer is kind of like a Champion of Light?" Maisie finally ventured.

"Yes." The Hunter paused, looked at Maisie for several long minutes and then took a deep breath. "I was one."

"One what? A Champion?" Maisie was confused now.

"I was a slayer." The Hunter bit her lip. "Well…_the_ slayer," she muttered finally.

"You were? Wait, why don't you work with the slayers in the city then?"

"It's a very long story, but let's just say I don't work for them anymore. Maisie, it is super important that they _never_ find out who I am. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Maisie nodded. She mostly understood. To her, slayers weren't really all that important. She wasn't a vampire and she wasn't human. Vampires stayed away from other demons as a general rule. She knew some demons looked down on vampires as impure beings or something like that. Whatever the deal was, she'd never really had any interaction with vampires and as a result, she didn't really understand the role of a slayer within vampire communities or within the human communities that knew and understood what a slayer was.

"Okay, so I'm going to go out and have coffee with A-, I mean…the Champion. If you see anyone strange or if anyone asks you about me or them you must let me know pronto. Got it?" Maisie nodded. The Hunter was going into ultra-paranoid mode. Again. This part, she was used to. The Hunter kissed her on the forehead and headed out the door.

Buffy sat in a dark corner of the coffee shop and sipped her breve. She was early, but she felt better after she did a little light surveillance of the area. Buffy had been leery about inviting Angel into her home. She had been so paranoid for so long that it was difficult to let her guard down. A public venue was definitely safer. She scanned the perimeter carefully while not appearing to. Before she ever saw him, she knew he was there. It wasn't because he was a vampire, it was because he was himself. She always knew where he was, and she knew that he could sense her as well. It was just the way it was, and she didn't really question it.

"Hey." He stared at Buffy with his smoldering chocolate eyes. Her stomach started to flip-flop. She could hear her pulse racing and tried to calm herself down.

"Hey," she answered quietly. She was proud of herself for managing to sound nonchalant.

"You started without me?" Angel's voice was deep and quiet.

"Sorry. Sometimes our plans for coffee don't pan out that well." Buffy gave an apologetic smile. Angel gave her his patented half-smile in return.

"That's true," he agreed. They both sat there and stared at each hungrily for several minutes. Buffy realized what she'd been doing and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"So here we are," she announced brightly.

"Yeah." Angel didn't seem to be forthcoming on the conversation. He continued to stare at her until she waved her hand in his face.

"Angel? Hello? Are you in there?" Buffy teased him lightly. He blinked a couple times.

"Yes. I'm here. It's just that I haven't seen you in so long, and I thought…" Angel couldn't finish the sentence because there wasn't a way to accurately convey the fear, worry and tension that had dogged every moment of his life since her disappearance. Buffy was watching him with her hazel eyes—those eyes that he could very easily drown in.

"I'm here, I'm not dead. I don't plan on being dead any time soon." Buffy's voice was just barely tinged with bitterness. Maybe no one else would have picked up on the emotion, but Angel did. He brooded for a moment and stared at his hands. "What is it?" Buffy finally asked softly.

"I feel selfish because I am very, very glad that you aren't dead," Angel's voice was quiet, "and that you aren't dying any time in the foreseeable future."

Buffy's heart contracted in her chest. She'd had quite some time to consider her mortality compared to that of her friends and family. Slowly, she had come to understand how Angel must have felt when they were together. To know that however many years they might spend together—it would be an achingly brief period compared to the rest of his life. That each tiny moment must be treasured and put away in one' memory against that time when those one loved were no longer with one. And yet. He had stayed for as long as he could—until he had been convinced that it was better for her if he left.

"Well," she murmured softly while carefully not looking at him, "I don't suppose that makes you selfish. I'm just a little bitter. It's my problem, not yours."

Angel gave an expressive shrug. She knew what he was saying. Her problems would _always_ be his problems. That was just the way it was. She took another sip of her breve. Angel brooded for another minute or two. He seemed to be considering something so Buffy let him think. Finally, He sat up and looked at her.

"I came here to talk to you because a lot has changed. For both of us."

Buffy blinked several times and just looked at Angel. _Her_ Angel. For the last twenty-four years, they had belonged to one another in subtle and unbreakable ways. It didn't matter who they were sleeping with, or seeing, there was always that piece that belonged irrevocably to the other. Angel had always given Buffy space to be her own person and to discover exactly for herself what that might mean. All the men she ever been with or considered being with had been measured against Angel, and all of them had failed miserably. His presence here and now signaled some sort of change in the game itself. Everything had changed already, but this was something different, something more. Her eyes widened slightly as a light went on in her head. She reached out and touched Angel's cold hand with her fingertips. He looked up at her swiftly. She blushed slightly.

"Um. They're done you know. They probably have been for a long time." Her voice was barely audible, but his sharp ears heard every word. One brow rose in confusion.

"They're done?"

"Yeah." Buffy blushed harder.

"_What_ are done?"

"The cookies. They're done." Her cheeks were bright pink now. Angel's eyes widened in understanding. If he had a pulse, it would be racing at a mile a minute. He remembered that night. Ironically, he'd told her that he could wait because he wasn't getting any older. Little did he know that they both weren't getting any older.

"I don't have the curse anymore so that's good," Angel offered. Buffy nodded.

"That's definitely a good thing," she murmured.

Her gaze wandered slightly and she realized that she was staring at the broad expanse of Angel's shoulders. She felt guilty for a second, and then realized that she didn't have to feel guilty. There was nothing wrong with them being together. He didn't have the curse. She was a grown, mature woman who had lived life and had experiences. Her heart started pounding so hard that it sounded deafening. Angel glanced at her curiously and she knew he could hear it, too.

His fingers reached out and he took her smaller hands in his larger ones. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. The gentle, cool sensation was calming and her racing heart started to settle down.

"So, where does that leave us?" He asked while watching her face.

"I'm not sure. I mean, you have responsibilities to the Powers That Be, right? And you have your people that depend on you, which still includes Wesley, right?"

Angel thanked his lucky stars that he had not brought Wesley.

"Well, yeah. I have responsibilities to the Powers That Be, but I don't think they have a specific region that I'm supposed to cover. Wesley is who he is. That's why I didn't bring him with me. I know that right now, secrecy is paramount to you. You have to understand though, that in a couple more decades, that won't matter. It's probably weird for you to think of time like that, but you need to start sometime."

Buffy ruminated on that for a minute or two. He was right. She wasn't thinking about the long term, and anything between Angel and her would be long term. She would outlive the council. Eventually, there would be a great number of young looking slayers to keep an eye on, and her importance would lessen. That was fine by her, it gave her greater personal freedom.

"Okay. So where do you see us?" Buffy asked finally.

"I would like to see you," Angel muttered.

"You can see me now. Here I am," she added flippantly. He growled at her.

"I want to court you. This time, I want to do everything the right way."

They both sat there for several more moments. Angel still held her hand and his thumb was still lightly stroking the back of it. She stared at their hands. _This time_, she thought and a warmth spread through her. This time, there was nothing that could keep them apart from one another.

"Okay," she said firmly.

"Okay?" He was watching her again with those eyes.

"I would like you to court me and stuff. Please. Just don't tell Wesley. And tell Gunn not to tell Wesley. It would be hard to court me if I were on some dissection table for the Council."

Angel's hand tightened on hers and he growled again. This growl was more dangerous and she knew it was meant for the Council. She had to hide the smug smile that refused to leave her lips.

"So what now?" He asked, his brown eyes piercing her.

_A/N: I don't know if I really need to clarify this, but I feel compelled to do so. In IWRY (this should not be a spoiler and if it is why the heck are you reading this story which takes place AFTER everything?), when Angel was human Buffy still _knew_ when he was near, she still sensed him. So it has to be some sort of weird Angel/Buffy connection as opposed to the ability of the slayer to detect vampires. This was another thing that He Who Is Joss never really touched on. Probably because it became somewhat problematic after they each had their own shows. _


	6. Pitching Woo

Angel wasn't sure how to go about courting Buffy. The sorts of things that had been acceptable in his time were the sorts of things that Angelus had twisted and made dark and ugly. The last thing he wanted to do was make Buffy think of Angelus because that would only scare or repulse her; so his charcoal drawings were out. Roses and candles were also out because he didn't want to remind her of Jenny Calendar's death. He scrubbed a hand through his hair. Poetry? He shuddered reflexively. Definitely not. What was left? What indeed.

**s s s s s**

Buffy was disturbed by how easy it was to have Angel be a part of her life again. He trained with her because he was still one of the only people who could hold his own against her. He patrolled with her just like they used to. Except…back then "patrolling" had been almost a euphemism for being bent backwards over a gravestone while Angel's cool hands slid up her shirt or pressed up against a mausoleum wall with her legs wrapped around Angel's waist. His cool lips pressed against the curve of her neck and his tongue…never mind_. Do not think about Angel smoochies_, Buffy told herself firmly. Now patrolling was…patrolling; they tracked and killed bad guys, they fought side by side, or sometimes back to back. _No smoochies_. Buffy sighed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Nick the bartender inquired politely. Buffy snorted.

"Tell me more about what was bothering the Zthna'aki elders," Buffy changed the subject with a pointed look at Nick. He shrugged.

"Um, let me see if I can remember all of it. There was a prophecy…"

"Isn't there always?" Buffy interrupted with a sigh. "What does it say?"

"Now that, I'm not sure about. They wouldn't tell me, I'm just a G'Pak demon, you know. I will tell you that their…er…Matriarch? Anyway, there was an old female that the others deferred to, and she wants to speak with the Hunter. Privately, she said. She's willing to speak to you here tomorrow night. I don't know, Hunter, but I got a feeling that you need to talk to her," Nick finished.

"Okay, tea time with the old Matriarch. I'll put it in my day book," Buffy said with a heavy sigh. That was probably the least fun part about being a peace keeper or whatever it was that she was in the demon community. She thought of herself as a protector or a guardian of the weak, the less-fortunate, but that role required that she become a lot more proficient with her diplomacy skills.

"I told everyone that you're using the private room tomorrow night. It'll be free for your use. I know this isn't really my place, but the Zthna'aki seem to put a lot of importance on entourages. If you could scrape one up, or fake one, it might help establish you as peers. Maybe Maisie could help you out?" Nick usually didn't offer his opinion. He felt that the Hunter did just fine on her own and she didn't need his help. However, he had a weird, nagging feeling that this meeting might become very important.

"Maybe. I will try to figure out something, I promise," Buffy murmured absently. "I have to go. I have another appointment."

"My privilege and honor, Hunter," Nick murmured back. Buffy thought it must be kind of a set ritual response because many of the people who dealt with her, used it. She gave a short nod and left Nick's bar.

Buffy walked through the streets of the demon community with a preoccupied air, but she was conscious of everything that went on around her. She was frowning when her ears caught the sound of a familiar footfall that fell in behind her. She strained her ears, but she did not hear a heartbeat. A silly grin curved her lips. She stopped suddenly and whirled around. Angel gave her a crooked half smile. He was holding a small bouquet of wildflowers. Her eyes widened in pleasure.

"Are those for me?" Was that her voice, sounding all girly? How embarrassing! Angel didn't seem to think so, his smile widened and became a true smile. He wordlessly handed her the wildflowers. She inhaled their scent and linked her arm through Angel's.

"Where are you headed?" He asked quietly.

"I have a date with a tall, dark mysterious guy," Buffy confided. She felt Angel stiffen momentarily, until he realized that Buffy meant him. They had never teased one another like this before. They had never had the freedom. There was always some new big bad to fight. Some kind of apocalypse to avert. The muscles under her hand relaxed.

"Oh, really?" He drawled with a sideways look at Buffy. "Is he handsome? This mysterious stranger?"

"I happen to think so," Buffy answered coquettishly.

"Hmm." Angel seemed to be thinking for moment.

"Although, you've gone and given me flowers, and I don't know if he'll be able to top that."

"Probably not," Angel said confidently. "Then again, maybe he'll think of something."

"Do you think so?" Buffy felt her heart start to race. She liked this new, kind of flirty version of Angel.

"Well, if he has any hope of winning your fair hand, he'd better be the kind of man who can think on his feet, right?"

"I suppose," Buffy said doubtfully. _My fair hand_? Buffy stared at her hands for a moment.

"He'd probably better be prepared to have competition for your affection as well." Angel's voice was carefully neutral. Buffy hid a smile.

"Uh huh. Angel, I don't even have a cat. The only other living being that gets any of my affection in my day-to-day life is Maisie." Buffy stated baldly.

"Oh." That was all Angel said, but his step seemed a little lighter and there was a sort of bounce to his walk. Buffy rolled her eyes.

Angel escorted Buffy to a little coffee shop. This was the easiest sort of place for them to have dates because they didn't have to worry about Angel very obviously not eating anything. He ordered a breve for Buffy and a cappuccino for himself.

"Why do you order the breve," he asked after they had received their drinks and picked a small corner table.

"It has half-and-half instead of milk. I need the extra fat calories, I tend to burn them up really quickly. That's it, really." Buffy took a tentative sip.

"That makes sense," Angel said. He took a very, very small sip of cappuccino and tried to depress his gag reflex.

"So, what are you doing tomorrow night?" Buffy asked brightly. A soot-black brow rose in surprise.

"Are you asking me out, Miss Summers?" His voice caressed her. She shivered involuntarily and shook her head at him.

"I have a meeting with a Zthna'aki…um…Matriarch? Or something like that?"

"Ah. You need an entourage to show your prestige. I think that Gunn and I could act as escorts for you. We've both dealt with Zthna'aki before." Angel immediately shifted to a business mode. He pulled out his phone and sent Gunn a message. "He says he's in."

"Thank you, so much," Buffy said feelingly.

She reached out and touched his hand. He laced his fingers with hers and they both stared at their entwined hands for a moment. Buffy sat up with a gasp and grabbed Angel's left hand. His claddagh ring shone starkly on his hand with its heart pointed firmly toward him.

"You're wearing your ring," she whispered. Her eyes sought his and they were wide with surprise. He held onto her hands and looked back at her with his own chocolate eyes. He pulled her left hand up to his lips and very lightly, very gently kissed her ring finger.

"You're not," he whispered back. Buffy's eyes filled with tears and she brushed them away impatiently.

"It's gone." She said so quietly that only he could have heard her. "I…I took to the mansion after I…sent you to…you know. I put it on the floor and I left."

Buffy tried to pull her hand out of his, but Angel held on tightly. He tipped her chin up so she could see his face. There was a triumphant smile on his face, his eyes were alight with some strange emotion that Buffy couldn't quite name.

"It _was_ you. I knew it must have been you," he murmured. "You called me back, Buffy. It was the ring that did it."

"I did?" Buffy was shocked. If only she had immediately placed the ring on the floor. Maybe he would have come back immediately. Tears streamed down her face.

"Don't cry, Buffy. Please," Angel pleaded with her.

"If only I hadn't run away. If only I had stayed here that summer. I could have called you back so much sooner. Oh, Angel!"

Angel moved swiftly so that he was sitting next to her. He began to murmur silly sweet nothings in her ears. His strong arms encircled her and he held her against his chest. She rested her cheek against his chest. It was cool through his shirt. His chest did not rise and fall, his heart did not beat, but for Buffy that was actually comforting. She closed her eyes and let him just hold her and whisper silly things in her ears.

"It doesn't matter," Angel murmured. "All that matters is that you and I have found each other again and we are here now."

Buffy burrowed deeper into his arms and they tightened reflexively around her.

"How can you ever forgive me?" Buffy asked finally when she had composed herself. Angel just stared at her with a shocked expression. Then he started laughing. Buffy glared at him and kicked him in the shin. He stopped laughing, but he shook his head at her.

"How can _you_ forgive _me_?" Angel asked in an anguished voice. "I caused so much hurt, so much pain not only to you, but to everyone you loved."

"That does not count," Buffy growled shortly. "That was not you. It was never you, Angel."

Angel gave an expressive shrug that meant, roughly, _well there you are then_. He picked up her left hand and stroked her palm gently.

"Does it bother you? That I wear it?" He asked quietly.

"No."

They sat there in the coffee house talking to one another for several hours, his dark head bent toward her golden locks.

v v v v v


	7. Making Preparations

_A/N: Serious writer's block impeded this chapter for some time. I'm trying to work with the upcoming meeting AND Angel and Buffy's burgeoning relationship. _

Meetings? So not Buffy's forte. She much preferred to be pointed in the general direction of evil and then left to go about her business. This particular meeting was going to be like some sort of summit meeting, which meant she needed to do some research. Her personal library had become rather vast over the years, if somewhat narrow in scope. Almost every book she had was musty, hundreds of years old, and written in some dead demonic language. Angel raised a brow at certain light novels that graced the bookshelf in her bedroom. She blushed furiously and glared at him.

"I only bought them for fun," she groused. Angel nodded, and wisely kept his mouth shut. He had received merciless ribbing from Wesley and Gunn when those books had come out, and they had suggested that he bore a certain resemblance to one of the characters. He recalled the conversation with strong distaste.

"_You know, except for the fact that this guy is a lot younger than you, and Southern, there does seem to be a sort of broody resemblance," Wesley had told Angel gleefully. He snatched the book from Wesley and began scanning the pages. His jaw tightened in anger and he looked up at Wesley, his chocolate brown eyes cold and furious._

"_Yes, and the fact that I never willingly betrayed her, left her for my maker, or tried to tie her to me against her will," he growled in Wesley's face. "I _killed_ my maker for her. I would never betray her, _never_. This…this…creature is _nothing_ like me."_

_Wesley and Gunn became suddenly fascinated by the wallpaper, and Angel stalked from the room._

"Here, these are the right books, I think. It's hard to tell sometimes. Can you read Thoki'i?" Buffy asked worriedly. He nodded.

"I can, actually." He murmured quietly. Buffy's face cleared and she smiled brightly at him.

"Oh, good! You can have these." Buffy dumped a stack into his hands and grabbed several more books. She led him to the kitchen. She set her books down on the table and started reading through the books.

Several hours later, Buffy was nibbling her bottom lip and trying to parse the meaning in the paragraph. Angel forgot what he was doing and stared at her small white teeth worrying the full lower lip. Her chin rested on her palm and there was a look of deep concentration on her face. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes wide.

"What is it? Did you find something?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Uh, no." He bent back to the page and tried reading it again.

Buffy watched Angel from under her lashes. His jaw was tight with tension, and his shoulders appeared to hold tension as well. She nudged his foot with hers. He peeked at her through his lashes. She smiled shyly at him. This dating thing was still very new to the both of them. Happiness had been forbidden to the both of them for so long that they almost weren't sure how to go about it. He nudged her foot with his, and she grinned at him.

"Are you playing footsie with me?" She asked playfully. He ducked his head and shrugged.

"I guess I am," he said finally while staring at the book in front of him.

"Angel…", Buffy started and then stopped. She sighed.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. She shook her head after a moment.

"Never mind."

"Just kiss her!" Maisie hollered from the living room where she was watching a movie.

"Isn't it your bed time?" Buffy hollered back, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Nope, it's a weekend!" Maisie hollered gleefully. "Seriously, dude, kiss her!"

Angel looked embarrassed. He didn't blush, but he got a certain look on his face and he refused to look Buffy in the eye. She pushed back from the table, stood up, and held out her hand.

"Come on. We're taking a research break."

Angel engulfed her tiny hand in his much larger one, and followed her out the door. Maisie grinned unrepentantly at the both of them and waved good-bye. Buffy rolled her eyes at Angel and tugged him after her.

"Don't do anything that will get you arrested, Hunter," Maisie called helpfully before Buffy slammed the door.

"She seems like a precocious child," Angel observed carefully. Buffy shrugged.

"She's got a good heart, and I think she's as close as I'm ever going to get to having little slayers of my own," Buffy said finally. Angel blinked.

"Do you…want to?" He asked quietly. Buffy smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, not really. I'm not the motherly type. I mean, I'm too busy slaying or hunting, or whatever. That and little babies can't exactly go on patrol, and I can't exactly shut this off. It's just who I am. Maisie takes care of herself. She's a tough kid."

Angel nodded slowly. He'd always felt bad that he could never offer Buffy children—he'd always counted it as one more black mark against him, but perhaps he should have asked her opinion.

_**ABABABABA**_

If you've seen one cemetery, you pretty much know the deal. Brainard Cemetery was historic and all that, but Buffy didn't really see the appeal. She couldn't really see much of anything except the broad shoulders in front of her. She remembered what those shoulders looked like bare, with the tattoo just there on his back. Her belly tightened pleasurably. Angel stopped in front of her suddenly, and she almost bumped into him. She moved back and scanned the area around her.

"What is it?" she asked tensely, looking around her.

"I can smell you," Angel said in a strangled voice. Buffy moved out of her fighting stance and moved back from him.

"You can _smell_ me? Ew! Are you saying I stink?" Buffy huffed. Angel gave a short, sharp bark of laughter.

"No." His voice was strained. "It smells…intoxicating."

Buffy's eyes widened in sudden understanding. _Oh!_ Angel just stood there in front of her looking pained. She felt badly for him in that instant. To have feelings, needs, desires, and _never_ act on them for fear of what might happen—that would suck big time. She had been able to at least give in to desire without worrying about destroying the city. She moved toward him and grabbed his lapel, pulling his face toward her. Electricity crackled between them, and when their lips touched Buffy swore that there was some sort of electrical shock, but then she didn't care about anything. Angel's arms came around her and lifted her, cradling her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss between them. She felt cold stone against her back, and grinned against Angel's lips. He shifted her, his hands cupping her ass, and her legs wrapped around his waist. She gasped into his mouth as he pressed against her and she could feel the very obvious evidence of his desire. Angel pressed cool kisses along her jaw and down her neck. He made a sort of growling noise against her throat, and she moaned, her fingers tightening in his hair.

Someone cleared their throat. Loudly. Buffy raised her head and looked over Angel's shoulder to see two young girls with wooden stakes in their hands and self-righteous determination on their faces. _Oh, shit._

"Angel," Buffy muttered, "ayers-slay."

He lifted his head and looked over his shoulder at the two girls. Then he sighed heavily. He looked deeply into Buffy's eyes.

"Will you stand in front of me," he asked so quietly that only she could hear him. She nodded. He carefully released her and she maneuvered herself so that she was standing right in front of him.

"So ladies, the cemetery is lovely this time of the evening, isn't it," Buffy said brightly as she waved vaguely toward the crypts. The slayers stared at her blankly for a moment and then looked at one another uncertainly.

"Um, could you move, miss?" asked one of them politely. Buffy smiled hugely and shook her head regretfully.

"So terribly sorry, but, no. Move along now, this is not the vampire you were looking for and all that." She made shooing motions, but the two young slayers remained un-shooed.

"But," began one of them, but Buffy interrupted shaking her finger.

"He is on the no-no list." Buffy said firmly, her hazel eyes going hard and flinty. "Now go slay evil somewhere else."

"The no-no list?" Angel asked curiously.

"You and Spike were on there. A couple friendly demons, too, but numbers one and two were you and Spike," Buffy explained crossly.

"You put us on a list?" Angel pressed further, "but Andrew said you didn't trust me after the whole Wolfram & Hart thing."

"Andrew," Buffy said as kindly as possible, "is an idiot, why on earth would you believe him?"

The two young slayers watched the two beings in front of them, their eyes getting wider and wider.

"Excuse me," asked one of them faintly, raising her hand as though she were in class. Buffy turned and glared at the young woman.

"What?" she demanded impatiently. The two slayers blanched slightly.

"Are you saying," she swallowed convulsively, "that he is…um…Angel?"

"Did I say he was at the top of the no-no list?" Buffy demanded sharply, and the authority in her voice was unconscious.

"Yes, ma'am," the slayer said faintly.

"So that would make him Angel, would it not?" Buffy continued in her general-of-the-slayer-army command voice. "Jesus, what exactly is slayer headquarters turning out these days?"

"Yes, ma'am. I don't know, ma'am," the young slayer said miserably. The girls looked at one another uncertainly.

"Well, toddle along now. I'm sure there must be some nice evil lurking about somewhere," Buffy said again.

"Yes, ma'am," said the other young slayer. She attempted a sort of a bow and both girls scurried out of the cemetery.

"When did you make a no-no list? And why do you have to call it the no-no list? It sounds…," Angel trailed off uncertainly. Buffy shrugged.

"As soon as we started sending them out, I made sure they knew who not to kill. I think Andrew called it the no-no list, but as I've pointed out—he's an idiot." Buffy explained with a shrug. Angel moved out from behind the protective shield of Buffy's body. The unfortunate interruption had dampened his desire for the moment.

"Come on, let's head back to your place," Angel said resignedly. "We need to do more research for your meeting with the Zthna'aki Matriarch."

"You're right, I know you're right," Buffy said. _It doesn't mean I have to like it_.

_**ABABABABABA**_

"Okay, so what do we know about the Zthna'aki demons?" Buffy asked Gunn, Angel, and Maisie.

"They've got a strict matriarchal hierarchy. That's why they want Buffy—she's a female authority figure." Maisie offered.

"Entourages are big, too," Gunn added, "it shows your prestige. Um, their laws are pretty fair, and they don't have anything taboo that you would offend them with, I think."

"You think?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"Well, I don't think that Angel being in your entourage would offend them. He is a Champion, and they revere the Light." Gunn explained.

"Okay, so we should probably play that as a heavy card with the Matriarch, huh?" Buffy made careful notes for herself.

"I think she may be contacting you as an agent of the Light," Angel said thoughtfully. "Nick mentioned a prophecy. She may see you as a key figure of the prophecy."

"Yay me," Buffy said and rolled her eyes.

"B-," Angel began and then stopped at the look in Buffy's eye. "A ghrá, I don't think she expects you to single-handedly save the world or anything."

Buffy's eyes flared, and she stared at him for several moments. Then she nodded.

"Okay, fine. Enough with the researching then. I'm exhausted, and we're supposed to meet her tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, Hunter. Tomorrow night at 10 p.m." Maisie said after checking her notes.

"Good, everyone get some sleep. See you tomorrow night." Buffy stood up and left the room. Angel and Gunn filed out and said good night to Maisie.

Later that night, Buffy was staring at the ceiling thinking about Angel smoochies in the cemetery. _Just like old times._ She grinned at the ceiling. It was probably incredibly pervy, but she found that nothing turned her on quite like stone. Then again, she was probably lucky she hadn't lost her virginity in a crypt. God knows most of her heavy make out sessions had taken place in cemeteries and they never failed to make her nostalgic, and a little horny. A slight scratching at the window shook her out of her reverie. She bounced out of bed and went over to the window.

"Angel?" She lifted the sash, and his large frame slid through her window into her room.

"I can't stop thinking about you, about earlier," Angel muttered before he pulled her against him. Buffy wound her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Me either," she murmured as her lips traced his brow, jaw and chin.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked.

"Definitely," she told him with a smile. He grinned back at her.

"Good to know," he murmured.

His cool lips trailed down her neck to her chest. He carried her over to the bed, and laid her down on it. Then, there were no more words. It was frenzied and wild, and Buffy wouldn't have had it any other way. She wasn't sure how they got naked, but she was sure that all they would find tomorrow would be little scraps of fabric. When he slid into her she may have screamed with pleasure, but she wasn't sure because his roar sort of drowned her out. She dug her nails into his shoulders, and he growled into her collarbone. Angel pulled back from her a little and she made an angry growl of her own. He shifted so that he could pound into her—deeper, harder, more of everything—she encouraged him without words. Her hazel gaze burned into his chocolate brown eyes. He snarled at her and increased the tempo. She could feel _something_ thrumming faster and faster inside her. Something like a string or a cord that stretched between the two of them. Anxious tension wound tighter and tighter between them. When she came the first time, there were stars exploding. Super novas. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't touch. When she came back to herself, Angel had a slightly dazed look on his face. She frowned at him.

"You're still you, right?" She asked in scratchy voice, her throat raw from screaming. He nodded.

"Yeah. Soul still firmly attached," Angel reassured her.

"Good," she said with a wicked smile.

She pushed him down and straddled him. His hands came up to hold her hips in place. Then, there were no words for a very long time.

Buffy lay snuggled against Angel's chest, his strong arms wrapped around her. She smiled to herself and traced the contours of his chest and belly. He kissed the top of her head and she kissed his chest.

"Sleep, a ghrá, you have a busy day tomorrow." Angel murmured to her. Buffy peeked up at him.

"I know what that means, you know," she said. Angel shrugged.

"You don't want me to call you Buffy in front of anybody else, and Hunter doesn't quite suit you," he explained. "Besides, you are, so why shouldn't I?"

"I like it," Buffy confessed to his chest. The strong arms tightened and he kissed the top of her head again.

_A ghrá_- (.) my love (when addressing someone)


	8. The Meeting

"I take everything back, okay?" Maisie growled at Buffy the next morning when she came into the kitchen. Buffy stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, and frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"You guys? At first, I thought it was like 'When Animals Attack' or something, but then, I realized the animals sounded way too happy, and I started searching for my ear plugs." Maisie said with her hands on her hips.

"Is this because he's a vampire? I mean, I explained that he has a soul…," Buffy began uncertainly.

"No! It's because you're my mom! Moms are NOT supposed to…to…you know," Maisie waved her hands around. "I thought I would be okay with it because you're not my bio-mom, and you totally deserve to be happy and all that, but no, it's still totally gross."

"Ah…," Buffy's face went up in flames. "I'm…sorry?"

"No. I mean, thank you, I just think I might sleep over at K'tiya's house for a couple nights. Well, after tonight tonight."

"K'tiya?" Buffy searched her memory for who, exactly, K'tiya was. "The thock demon that's in your grade? D'Vara's younger sister?"

"Yup, that's her."

"I suppose that's fine." Buffy said after a moment.

"It had better be! I'd much rather be there than in the middle of Happy Tiger Fun Time," Maisie said with a snort.

"Happy Tiger Fun Time?" Angel asked curiously as he entered the kitchen and moved to stand next to Buffy.

"Never mind," Buffy muttered and he quirked a brow at her.

"You guys," Maisie explained waving a hand at the both of them.

Buffy could feel him grow still next to her, and she could see his jaw tighten. He wasn't looking at her again. _He's embarrassed_. She shot Maisie a dirty look, and the teenager grinned at her.

"Don't you have school, or something?" Buffy asked coolly.

"Yup. Love you and stuff. See you later." Maisie gave Buffy a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out the door. Buffy sighed when she slammed the door and started rubbing her temples.

"I should go," He said quietly.

"No, you should not," Buffy said firmly.

"You realize that I will have to eventually? I'm only here for another few days. Wesley already suspects something. I've never taken anything close to a vacation," Angel explained. A strange ring tone started playing. "What is that?"

Buffy blushed and started looking for her phone.

"It's…um…it's 'The Ripper' by Judas Priest. I thought it was funny at the time. A ha!" She held up the phone in triumph and then answered it.

"Hello," she said cautiously into the phone.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Giles' voice was decidedly unamused.

"I don't want to insult your age, or anything Giles, but I imagine it wouldn't take much at this point," Buffy snapped. _Where did he come off yelling at her? What on earth could she have possibly done that…oh_, shit.

"You do realize that when reports come through of Angel, erm…, 'making out' in a grave yard with a petite blond who seems to possess knowledge of slayers that that might, just might mind you, alert certain people?" Giles hissed into the phone. His fear for Buffy's safety was pushing his blood pressure higher than it should be.

"Oh," Buffy squeaked into the phone. "Who? What are they saying? How…how bad do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure. This could be…a problem. Your people still hold key positions here, and they have a lot of clout, as do I. However…there have been…rumors."

"Rumors?" _That can't be good._ Buffy started to rub her temples.

"The first batch of girls, well, most of them are gone, but the ones that remain are in their thirties. They all look really good for their age, a little too good. It seems that a couple of them have gone missing, but the council doesn't seem concerned—not like they were when...you know."

"Wait, what?" Buffy could feel the cold rage building in her. Angel touched the small of her back and she glanced at him briefly, giving him a tight smile. He frowned.

"At this point, there are just rumors, but I do not doubt that they will send people to investigate. You must be careful." Some of his worry bled through into his voice and Buffy's heart constricted.

"I promise that I will be careful. Angel will only be here for a few more days. If I have to leave, I will tell you. I have a meeting tonight and it may influence my future activities in a big way." Buffy said quietly.

"Well, I suppose that's the best I can hope for at any time. At least you have Angel there watching out for you at the moment." Giles said with a sigh.

"You're not mad?" Buffy asked curiously.

"No. He loves you. He's proved that over and over again. That, and I know he can handle himself well when it comes down to it. The man's willing to take on Hell itself. That says something in my book." Even over the phone Buffy knew he had that sort of wry smile.

"Okay, then. I'll keep you updated." Buffy promised.

"Thank you." The line disconnected, and Buffy set down her phone.

Angel just looked at her, one black brow quirked, waiting.

"Soo…making out in the graveyard? Probably not a good idea. It sort of fits a certain m.o., if you know what I mean." Buffy said with a weak smile.

"Was that Giles?" His voice was velvet soft, and dangerous sounding. Her eyes widened in surprise at the veiled menace in Angel's voice.

"Yes?"

"So he knows exactly where you are, and has known exactly where you are this whole time?" Angel asked in that some dangerous tone of voice.

"Maybe?" Buffy wasn't sure where he was going with this conversation, but she wasn't sure if she had ever seen Angel this furious before. A low growl emanated from his chest and Buffy just stared at him for a moment. Then she touched his arm to get his attention.

"Wait, be mad at him for protecting me later. Now, we have bigger fish to fry. Angel, it sounds like they might be kidnapping slayers—the oldest ones anyway—to experiment on. This is what Giles has always been afraid of—that was why he told me to leave." The indignant rage in Buffy's tone shook Angel free from his own anger.

"Experimenting? On the slayers? Why?" Angel was revolted by the idea, and it showed in his tone. "That's why you left? You knew they would try and keep you locked up?"

"Giles suspected, and he begged me to leave. He heard things I didn't at the HQ." Buffy said finally.

"But still, why would they do that?"

"Slayer HQ and the Council are two very different animals. The Council never liked the idea of relinquishing power to the people that actually had it. They liked pretending that they had all the power, but it was never enough. I think…I think they're power mad. They more they get, the more they want. Giles tried to clean things up a bit, but his focus has always been on the slayers; he would much rather work with the girls than sit around in some council chamber pretending he was king of the universe. This scares me, Angel, and it makes me worry about what might be happening out there. After tonight, we're going to need to make plans."

"Of course," Angel agreed immediately.

_**SSSSSSSS**_

"Okay, Hunter, so there's something that's not in your books, but you gotta know before we go in there," Maisie said with a nervous glance at the rest of their entourage, which had last minute included Nick from the bar.

"What?" Buffy asked with a frown. Maisie blushed and swallowed a couple times.

"You have to take off your top," Nick explained finally, to ease Maisie's discomfort.

"Excuse me?" Angel asked in his deadly, soft voice.

"No, that's exactly right," Maisie agreed. Buffy stared at her adoptive daughter.

"Doesn't this count as some sort of child abuse?" she asked finally.

"I'll stand behind the big guy. I don't think I could see anything then. Besides, you want to talk scarring me for life, we could talk about 'When Animals Attack' some more." Maisie said drily.

"Right. No one is allowed to tell anyone about this. Ever," Buffy said finally as she started taking off her shirt.

She had to give Angel credit, he didn't say a word, but he didn't look happy about it either. He shot Gunn and Nick dark looks, and both men stared at the ceiling. She wrapped her shirt into a small bundle and handed it to Angel. Then she straightened her back and lifted her chin proudly. Angel stared for a moment at her, standing in the hallway outside their meeting place with her perfect breasts on display. There was a very dark, animal side to him that was growling at these others who dared to look on her beauty. He ruthlessly stomped it into submission and set his jaw.

The Matriarch of the Zthna'aki was…interesting…and purple. It was a lovely shade and all that, but Buffy wasn't expecting it. She was big, maybe seven feet tall. She was also topless, which meant her breasts were basically in Buffy's face. Buffy didn't really care, but she snuck a look at Angel to see if he cared. To those who didn't know him, he may have seemed blasé, or indifferent. Buffy could tell that he was more than halfway to a fit of apoplexy. That was probably because of the Matriarch's fairly substantial entourage—all male—who had a clear view of Buffy's chest.

"We are honored that the Hojai'in have graced us with their presence," the Matriarch began in a mellifluous voice. Buffy blinked. Her voice was really, really beautiful—kind of throaty.

"We have come to hear the wisdom of the Matriarch," Buffy responded. There wasn't a set response (as far as they could tell anyway), but Nick and Maisie had both cautioned that she be as respectful as possible. She wasn't sure what a "Hojai'in" was, but the Matriarch seemed almost reverential when she said the word. The Matriarch smiled kindly, and shook her head.

"It is not my wisdom, but that of the Guardians. I was a friend to the last, she whose job was to pass unto you the Scythe. When we were much younger, she told me of a prophecy that the Guardians kept among themselves." The Matriarch said smoothly. Buffy stared at her. That meant that this Matriarch was _thousands_ of years old.

"The words of this prophecy would be good to hear," Buffy said after several moments of just staring at the Matriarch.

"And when the Scythe-bearer triumphs over evil,

She will move forth upon the face of the earth,

And the Watchers will no longer know her.

A Champion of Light will be her companion,

And they will be bound together by the Light,

And the Watchers will know fear.

The Hojai'in will move in the Light,

And the servants of Darkness will know fear.

The Darkness will ally itself with the Watchers,

And they will plot to remove the Hojai'in from this plane.

Let not the Guardians of Earth be removed from it,

For if they are taken from us—

We shall be enslaved by the Dark."

Buffy blinked several times. She turned and looked at Angel whose jaw had dropped open. She turned back to the Matriarch and frowned.

"How do you know that we are the…the Hojai'in?" She asked curiously. The Matriarch smiled.

"I have the power to See many things. This one is a Champion of Light—his soul blazes with it. You have born the Scythe, it has left its mark upon you for those with eyes to See. Further, I can see the binding that the Light has placed upon you both. You know always where the other is, do you not?" She explained gently.

"Wait, that—that's because we're, um, Hojai'in? What does that mean even?" Buffy asked. "What…did the Light, like, marry us without our consent or something?"

"This marry, this is a human thing, yes? No…the Light has not married you to one another. This is deeper, stronger, more permanent. It is…," the Matriarch shook her head in frustration. "I have not the words. I am sorry."

One of her men coughed politely, while he looked at the ground. The Matriarch turned and looked at him for a moment and then turned back to Buffy.

"This one thinks that he may hold the words that the Matriarch lacks," she said drily. "Let us see."

"Our Matriarch knows that this one spent some time serving the Kohari, and She holds much of the ancient knowledge," the male began apologetically, but the Matriarch motioned that he ought to continue. "The Hojai'in are almost mythical among those who study the ancient lore because they are so rare. It is completion; those who were separate are joined together. Their love is the binding that holds them together; the Light does not do it itself, but such a thing is of the Light."

"The Light did not bind us," Angel said after listening carefully to what the young Zthna'aki male said. "We did it to ourselves. But they consider this binding to be a blessing—of and by the Light."

The young male nodded eagerly.

"Yes, the Champion understands perfectly what the Kohari explained to this one."

"So…we're mystical soul mates?" Buffy could not help the teensy dollop of sarcasm that tinged her voice. Angel shot a hurt look toward her. She stepped toward him and touched his arm. "I'm not saying I don't think we are, I'm just surprised that anyone else cared enough to put it in a prophecy."

"When those Hojai'in are the Guardians of Earth? You do yourself, and your Hoji a disservice." The Matriarch spoke firmly.

"My Hoji?" Buffy asked blankly.

"Of course, just as you are his Hojai."

"I see."

_**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**_

"Well that was the weirdest meeting I've ever been to, and I've been to some doozies," Buffy said once she had her shirt back on, and they had gathered in the back room at Nick's bar.

"You're the Guardians of Earth," Maisie said in hushed tones of awe. She kept staring at Angel and Buffy like they were super heroes or something.

"And mystical soul mates," Gunn added with a grin.

"Hunter, it has always been an honor to assist you," Nick began uncertainly.

"Yes, about that," Buffy interrupted him. "I think that prophecy means that I have to leave Nick. I'm sorry, but I think I have to."

"I agree, Hunter. You must go and do as the Matriarch has suggested," Nick nodded firmly. "But, Maisie, where will she go?"

"With me," Buffy said firmly. Maisie's whole face lit up at that. "I've tried to keep those I love away, to protect them, and it always fails in a spectacular way. No, she's coming with me."

"As you say, Hunter," Nick said politely. "But, if the need should arise, Maisie will always be welcome here."

"Thank you, Nick, that means more to me than you know." Buffy said quietly.

"Are you coming with me?" Angel asked her.

"Not exactly. I am still worried about Wesley. He's got way too many friends. Check on him, find out what you can. Then let me know," Buffy decided.

"Wesley? He's our friend," Gunn protested. Buffy just looked at him.

"He may be your friend, but he's never really been one of mine." She said coolly.

"Okay, understood," Gunn replied just as coolly. Angel shot Gunn a look, and he shrugged.

"Thank you, Nick, I think we're going to head to my place for the moment," Buffy said as she stood up. Maisie stood up with her. Angel and Gunn sat at the table looking at one another.

"A ghrá?" Angel tore his gaze away from the accusing eyes of his friend. Buffy gave him an impish grin.

"Yes, my Hoji?" she answered. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Later?" He asked. She nodded. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on his cool lips.

"Definitely," she breathed against his ear.

Buffy and Maisie left Angel and Gunn to talk privately in Nick's back room. It looked like they were both unhappy about something, and Maisie hoped it wouldn't affect their ability to help her Hunter.


End file.
